New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on a plea against an order quashing the FIR against nine persons, including Praful Khoda Patel, Administrator of the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, for allegedly abetting suicide of former Lok Sabha MP Mohan Delkar in 2021.
The Bombay High Court on September 8, 2022 quashed the case against nine persons in the case.
The FIR was registered after the death of Delkar, a seven-time MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, who was found dead in a Mumbai hotel in 2021.
His alleged suicide note detailed harassment and intimidation, prompting police action against several persons, including top bureaucrats and political figures.
A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran on Monday reserved its verdict after hearing senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for Abhinav Delkar, son of the late MP, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the state government and senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani on behalf of some accused.
During the hearing, the bench engaged in a detailed discussion on whether the material on record, including the 30-page suicide note left by the deceased MP, could sustain charges under Section 306 of IPC (abetment of suicide).
“The person had time to think over and write 30 pages. Can we say it (the suicide) was at the spur of the moment?” the CJI asked.
He said individual responses to stress or harassment can differ.
“Someone who is sensitive may commit suicide, while someone with a hard heart may not,” the CJI added.
Arora said Delkar’s mental state at the time of the incident was the result of a deep sense of public humiliation.
“He was distressed because he believed his public image had been destroyed. Look at what he has written to his wife and children…his family name mattered deeply to him,” she said.
“The law remains the same irrespective of changing narratives. The high court’s decision to quash the FIR is correct based on the facts,” Mehta said.
He referred to precedents including one authored by CJI Gavai during his tenure in the Bombay High Court.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for some of the accused, said, “There is no specific reference to the alleged extortion of Rs 24 crore either in the suicide note or elsewhere in the record. The claim does not stand scrutiny.” The bench said if the extortion allegations were not included in the arguments before the high court they may not be admissible now.
“Was this argument made before the high court?” the CJI asked, prompting Arora to say she would check.
While reserving the verdict, the bench asked the lawyers for the parties to file their written submissions by August 8.
On September 8, 2022, the high court held it to be a fit case to quash the FIR to “prevent abuse of law” against the accused.
It also noted the contents of the FIR and reference made to the incident fell “too short” to show any “positive act” committed by the accused persons to abet the suicide of Delkar.
Delkar, 58, a seven-term MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was found dead in a room at a hotel in Marine Drive in south Mumbai on February 22, 2021.
Patel and eight others were booked by the Mumbai police in March 2021 on charges of abetting the suicide and criminal intimidation of Delkar on a complaint was lodged by the late MP’s son Abhinav.
The parliamentarian was alleged to have died by suicide due to the harassment by the accused persons, who wanted to take control of the educational institutions he ran and to dissuade him from contesting elections.
The accused moved the high court last year to get the FIR quashed, arguing they had been framed. PTI SJK SJK AMK AMK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.